Chapter 168

Chapter 168: Could Be Taught

Ye Xu nodded.

"The Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest focuses on the ‘seven treasures,’ meaning it contains seven rare treasures."

"These seven treasures are extremely rare in this era. Each is a peerless immortal rarity. Even managing to obtain just one piece would more than compensate you for the price you pay."

"Could they be…immortal artifacts?" The Empress of the Holy Mother Palace was appalled.

"Immortal artifacts?"

A trace of disdain flashed in Ye Xu’s eyes. "Could a mere immortal artifact truly be called a peerless immortal rarity? You must understand, when I speak of peerless immortal rarities, they are not merely restricted to the lower realms."

Boom!

Upon hearing these words, waves surged within the hearts of everyone present, setting off a storm of shock.

Ye Xu’s words ignited their blood, boiling with fervor, abruptly awakening greed within them.

Lin Qianmo gazed at Ye Xu with reverence.

Since her reincarnation, no one had ever made her feel such admiration; Ye Xu was absolutely the first.

He was a truly formidable figure!

"Master, how many treasures would be required to exchange for even one-seventh of the information you speak of?" The Dao King was deep and inscrutable; he hadn’t allowed greed to cloud his mind.

His mind remained coolly logical as he asked the crucial question.

"Fifteen Emperor Venerable’s magical treasures."

Ye Xu stated his price.

He had long calculated it: fifteen Emperor Venerable’s treasures were worth over sixty million heavenly secrets points. Yet, obtaining one-seventh of the information only required forty-something million.

He could still profit roughly twenty million heavenly secrets points.

Although the price tag of the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest routinely ran into the billions, Ye Xu hadn’t lost his head over it.

Given the current assembly of rabble before him, they simply couldn’t cough up thirty immortal artifacts!

"Fifteen Emperor Venerable’s magical treasures?"

The fervor blazing within everyone instantly cooled down.

The number of Emperor Venerables across the Star Realm, the Mysterious Realm, the Spirit Realm, and the Shadow Realm did not exceed forty.

For any Emperor Venerable, the achievement of forging even a single Emperor Venerable’s treasure in their entire lifespan would already be remarkable.

Only apex powerhouses like the Dao King, blessed by tremendous fortune, could command such vast resources.

Therefore, assembling fifteen Emperor Venerable’s treasures would almost drain the accumulated wealth of an entire world.

For instance, in the Spirit Realm, there were only eleven or twelve Emperor Venerable level masters. The Taihao Heavenly Sect alone possessed five. Yet, gathering fifteen Emperor Venerable’s treasures was utterly impossible.

Lin Qianmo was also stunned.

She knew Ye Xu had a big appetite.

However, demanding fifteen Emperor Venerable’s treasures at the very opening salvo still made her eyes pop.

That was too ruthless.

"Master, do you know how much resources and treasures are needed to forge fifteen Emperor Venerable’s magical treasures?" The Great Emperor of the Maha divine clan said with a grim face, "Even if we exhausted all the resources of our divine clans, it would be impossible to accomplish."

"All of you are the representatives of the top powers from various realms; if you pool together, you can naturally do it."

"To be honest, if it weren’t for Lin Qianmo’s sake, don’t even think I would speak about fifteen Emperor Venerable’s magical treasures," Ye Xu said, waving his sleeve.

"If you can’t afford to give it, then please all leave."

Ye Xu was resolute.

He deduced the thoughts of everyone.

The Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest was too important; it hadn’t appeared for ten thousand generations, and now in their generation it showed a trace—how could they possibly miss it?

"Everyone seems to have forgotten, we didn’t come for the treasure information of the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest, what we want is just the whereabouts of the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest."

Dao King suddenly stood up and stretched his hand out to press downward, calming the crowd’s emotions.

Ye Xu frowned.

This old fox was indeed the clearest-minded one.

Under his incitement, the crowd had switched from probing the whereabouts of the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest to wanting the treasure information, and with a few words, Dao King’s speech instantly made them come to their senses.

"Exactly."

The Empress of the Holy Mother Palace had a penetrating thought, her gaze gradually grew sharp, and she said, "This visit to pay respects to the senior is solely to request the whereabouts of the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest."

"As for the treasure information… it’s too expensive…"

"Please, senior, set a price."

Dao King pursed his lips slightly, wearing a faint, knowing smile, as if telling Ye Xu he had finally turned the tables.

Step by step, he had lured them from the complete information of the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest to a seventh of it, and now to probing Ye Xu’s bottom line.

At that moment, he seemed to have succeeded.

He concealed it all extremely well, without the slightest ripple in his thoughts.

Dao King felt confident Ye Xu wouldn’t notice.

"Hahaha…"

Ye Xu laughed loudly three times and said, "It seems all of you have enough confidence in your own power."

"Very well."

He let out a light sigh, "Then let’s discuss the whereabouts of the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest."

In his heart, he sneered coldly.

Dao King’s move was indeed clever.

However, he himself wasn’t a pushover either.

"If all of you want the whereabouts of the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest, you only need to pay ten Emperor Venerable’s treasures," Ye Xu said with a light chuckle, "And I’ll provide you with a map to ensure your entry into the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest."

"Master, your price doesn’t seem right, does it?"

The Mystic Law Sect’s Great Emperor frowned deeply and said, "For a portion of the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest’s message, it required fifteen Emperor Venerable’s treasures, yet for the whereabouts, it’s only ten? The cost is unreasonable."

Ye Xu smiled, revealing his teeth.

The whereabouts of the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest actually only required twenty million heavenly secrets points, which did not include any information about it.

He demanded ten Emperor Venerable’s treasures, equivalent to nearly fifty million heavenly secrets points; actually, he earned even more this way.

After all, he fully understood everyone’s backgrounds and resources.

If in the previous transaction, he had exploited them too harshly, they would surely have found it exorbitant and refused.

Through that earlier assessment, Ye Xu gauged everyone’s limits, so in this deal, he slashed the price by a third—it was now a certainty.

Dao King was scheming against him, but Ye Xu was also maneuvering cautiously step by step.

"’After countless millennia of silence about this inheritance, now all it takes is ten Emperor Venerable’s treasures to locate it. If you consider that expensive, just leave.’"

Ye Xu stayed perfectly calm, swirling the teacup lid to spread the leaves, confident of winning.

Dao King also understood.

"’I have been tricked too.’"

That rogue trader lived up to his reputation.

In the art of profit-making, Ye Xu had deep mastery, which Dao King couldn’t hope to match.

"’Ponder it slowly then.’"

Ye Xu chuckled, summoned Ye Xian’er, and poured another cup of tea.

"’You only have the duration of one cup of tea.’"

He reclined partly in the armchair, looking weary, eyes shut to rest.

"’Dear friends, what should we do?’"

Everyone grew frantic and noisy, chattering like in a bustling market.

Ye Xian’er stifled a soft laugh.

All these Great Emperor-level cultivators bickered like street hawkers, appearing quite comical.

Dao King’s expression turned gloomy.

Truly, even agreeing to Ye Xu’s terms cost him much less than the prior deal, yet Dao King stewed in resentment inside.

He felt utterly unfulfilled.

Having been outsmarted twice by Ye Xu, as head of the Taihao Heavenly Sect and the strongest Emperor Venerable below, Dao King never endured such indignity before.

Ye Xu sensed everyone’s feelings clearly, comprehending it all as if under a bright light.

Born in the Yuan Realm, he unwittingly grew a touch of affinity there.

Earning coins while weakening these foreign cultivators’ strength was something he gladly seized.

As for Dao King…

He was an oath-breaker who betrayed master and ancestors, so Ye Xu found him unacceptable.

That was why Ye Xu repeatedly made things hard for Dao King.

Time slipped by quietly like flowing water.

Ye Xu’s cup of tea was nearly empty.

He slowly rose from his throne chair, his eyes carrying a scrutinizing gaze. He did not acknowledge the Great Emperors, but looked directly at the Dao King.

"Daoist friend, the time is nearly over, have you made up your mind?"

"I know you have the means to pay it all by yourself."

"In my opinion, you should bear it alone."

"No."

The Mystic Law Sect’s Great Emperor panicked.

Whether the Dao King possessed such immense wealth, he didn’t know.

But he knew that if this matter was bungled, he would likely lose his head.

"Dear friends, stop considering any longer. For us ten top powers, gathering one Emperor Venerable’s treasure each won’t be easy, but it’s certainly not impossible either.

"Surely, the emergence of the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest carries enough weight?"

The Mystic Law Sect’s Great Emperor almost roared out the words.

"Agreed."

The Great Emperor of the Yama Court nodded.

Within the Shadow Realm, the Yama Court held supreme authority over all, a truly immense and powerful entity.

A single Emperor Venerable’s treasure meant little to them.

With two major powers agreeing, the Empress of the Holy Mother Palace, Qilou Yan, and the others also cast aside their reservations and quickly agreed.

"Hahaha…"

"The pupil is worthy of being taught."

Ye Xu laughed.

Three million heavenly secrets points were now within reach.

"Ah…"

Pervasive gloom finally settled over the Dao King’s face.

Once the words left the Mystic Law Sect’s Great Emperor’s mouth, they could not be taken back.

The resolve of the others would inevitably waver.

It was a done deal.

His second trip to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion resulted in a total loss, without gaining any advantage whatsoever.